James McDonald's mother put his senior picture, right, next to a picture of his father, Frank McDonald, in an album with the caption "like father ... like son."

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James McDonald

Frank McDonald was his name, and after 69 years of marriage to his beloved wife, Ruth, they now are at rest together in Memorial Park. I had the good fortune of waltzing with him for 58 years. It was fascinating! My mother put my senior picture next to a picture of him in an album with the caption "like father ... like son." That is a whale of a compliment.

My dad bought me a trumpet when I was 9 years old. The next year, he paid a thousand bucks for braces to realign my teeth. (You cannot play a trumpet well with bucked incisors.) The next year, he told me to get a job and sent me selling greeting cards door to ...